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Darts World Championship final: Rob Cross stands between Phil Taylor and 17th world title

Gary Jacob

January 1 2018, 12:01am, The Times

Cross knocked out Van Gerwen, the world No 1, in an extraordinary semi-finalSteven Paston/PA

Rarely has a sport been so dominated by one man, but Phil Taylor’s long reign will end when he takes aim at a 17th world title tonight. The finest player to have drawn breath has picked up every accolade in three decades of pounding the treble 20s and countless thousands of hours of practice will be distilled into one evening against a man who was not born when Taylor lifted his first crown in January 1990.

Like Taylor back then, Rob Cross was an outsider to lift the trophy — at one point last year he was 125-1 — but the former electrician from Hastings has shown plenty of guts and resilience to signal that he will not be making up the numbers in a defining moment…

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